When the apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Ephesus, saying, “Put on the whole armor of God,” he was speaking of the kind of armor a Roman soldier would wear.

There were six pieces of armor Paul referred to. The first three, the belt, the breastplate, and the shoes, were attached to the soldier’s body and really never removed. The second three, the shield, the helmet, and the sword, were for specific purposes and methods of attack.

First, there is what we might call the utility belt, which Paul called “the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14 NLT). The Roman soldier would wear a large belt that all of his equipment was attached to. The breastplate was attached to the belt. The sword and the sheath were attached to the belt as well. It was a key piece of his armor.

This belt, however, wasn’t an offensive piece of the soldier’s armor. He didn’t attack his enemy with his belt. He had better weapons for that. But he needed the belt. It was essential.

For the believer, the belt of truth means that, at the outset, if we’re going to prevail in the spiritual battle, if we are going to live successfully as Christians, then we must be truthful before God. It means not living a life of duplicity or hypocrisy, trying to live in two worlds.

There are some Christians, some people in the church today, who are living a lie. They have a good game going on. They’re putting on a good show, but it’s a performance. It isn’t real because they’re living a double life. They’re doing things they shouldn’t do.

If you haven’t put on the belt of truth, the rest of the armor won’t actually matter. So let’s commit to living truthfully before God.